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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Creative Nostalgia Lifestyle Tip: Monday is Laundry Day

Your grandmother probably did laundry every Monday. Your mother may have too. Originally a whole day had to be put aside to do laundry because it took all day to do it. Imagine…no running water, a wash board, and laundry lines. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty happy to have modern conveniences on laundry day now! So let’s take advantage of our good luck and get all our laundry done in one day.

In order for this system to work you must stick to it! That means you need to pretty much dedicate yourself to the idea that you WILL do laundry every Monday (or whatever day of the week works best for you). Of course, life may get in the way occasionally, and you may need to deviate from the schedule. But try not to let it become a habit. If you do laundry every Monday, you’ll find that you rarely need to throw in extra loads during the week.

To start your new habit, I recommend that you purchase one three ring binder and seven dividers. This will be your housekeeping binder and you can easily stay organized and focused if you use it. Your first divider should say: “Monday is Laundry Day”. In this section, put copies of articles you come across about getting stains out of clothes or even decorating ideas for your dream laundry room. Anything “laundry” goes in this section of the binder. I even put my washing machine and dryer manuals in it, warranty information, and my favorite machine repair companies’ contact information. Now, when my machine breaks, I can find easily locate all the information I need and get it repaired fast. (Because there is nothing worse than a broken washing machine!)

The trick to getting your laundry done in one day is to stay close to home on laundry day.Don’t schedule outings or run errands.Stay home, listen for your machines to be done with their work, and keep the loads going.This is where modern technology is a joy!Our grandmothers stayed home all day on Mondays and worked the entire day.We, on the other hand, can use the excuse that it’s "laundry day", to stay home, but we don’t have to be working every minute!I’ll admit that I’ve watched an episode or two of reality TV while waiting for a load to finish.My laundry room is upstairs, so I will often use the excuse of “staying close to the laundry room” to work on my latest sewing project (my sewing room is next to the laundry room). Laundry days are also a good day to work on laundry-themed projects.Have you been meaning to make a weathered wood “Laundry” sign to hang on the wall?Or maybe you could dig out that really cute tutorial to make a cute, fabric laundry bag?

I realize that there are situations that may make it impossible to get all the laundry done in one day.There are other days of the week that will have lighter chore days and you can always carry your laundry tasks over.I do recommend though, that you really try to find the time to stay focused on your laundry chores.I think you’ll be surprised by how much you can done if you spend a few concentrated hours on the task rather than throwing in loads willy-nilly.

So next Monday, I hope you will give my Monday is Laundry idea a try. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing my household cleaning tips for the rest of the days of the week, so stay tuned.

Are you a Fan of my Facebook page? If not, be sure to sign-up-I'll be sharing tips and tricks for making your laundry chores easier each Monday and would love it if you would share your laundry day tips too! It won't be all work and no play either. I'll include tutorials for laundry themed crafts too.

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm Laura Bray. I'm a designer, writer and lifestyle expert. I inspire creative women to live a life of balance and simplicity by sharing my modern twist on the traditional home arts. Whether you cook, sew, are raising children, or running a creative business, you are sure to find some inspiration and ideas.